Sipapa gets new team of lawyers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Multiple violent robbery suspect Charles Olim commonly known as Sipapa together with his wife Shamirah Nakiyemba have hired new lawyers to represent them in the case in which they are accused of aggravated robbery.

The lawyers from Wameli and Company Advocates led by Geoffrey Turyamusiima on Monday told Makindye Chief  Magistrates Court presided over by Esther Adikin  that they last week received instructions from the accused to represent them throughout the trial.

The couple is charged with six offenses of aggravated robbery related  to robbery of cash and items from six South Sudanese nationals which occurred about two months ago.

The accused have contracted Wameli and Company Advocates to represent them after disagreeing with their former lawyers of Elgon Advocates who said that the couple had failed to pay them 100 million Shillings legal fees they had agreed for representing them.

In relation to the case , the Prosecution led by Hope Rukundo has told the Court that investigations into this matter were still ongoing and sought for an adjournment.

But Sipapa and Nakiyemba’s  lawyer  Turyamusiima was quick to object to the adjournment saying it was for the third time that the case is coming up in Court and the Prosecutors say that investigations are incomplete.

Turyamusiima said that whereas the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions -DPP in law has six months time within which to conclude the investigations,  it doesn’t mean that it is a must to take that long.  He said that the Court has an obligation to direct the DPP to expedite the process and cause the investigations to be completed within the shortest time.

He also informed Court that the fundamental human rights of their clients rights were infringed  upon after the arrest arguing that Sipapa was kept for three days at Kireka Police Station and the wife who has a breast feeding baby less than six months old was kept in Police detention for more than a week.

According to Turyamusiima, in future, they  will be filing an application to detail those infringements so that the charges against Sipapa and Nakiyemba are dismissed on that basis.

Chief  Magistrate  Adikin has now directed the Prosecutors to wind up investigations and adjourned the case to November 10th 2022.

Prosecution alleges that  Sipapa and Nakiyemba and others still at large during the night of August 29th, 2022 at Bunga Kawuku Makindye Division in Kampala District robbed six South Sudan nationals of different items and cash.

One of the victims Jacob Arok Mul was robbed of 429,000 United States Dollars, (1.6 billion shillings), two mobile phones, an iPhone silver blue in color valued at 3,200 United States Dollars, a Samsung, and a Flat Screen TV 75 inches valued at 4,000 United States Dollars.

It is alleged that on the same night, they robbed Mary Ateng an iPhone 12 Pro Max Gold in Color valued at 5 million shillings, a Golden belt, and a Golden Chain both valued at 10,000 United States Dollars (38 million shillings) and two gold rings valued at 500 United States Dollars.

The prosecution further alleges that the couple and others still at large robbed Chol Ateng of an iPhone 11 Pro Dark Green in color valued at 800,000 shillings, a Dell laptop, a charger valued at 1,000 USD, and 500,000 cash. The suspects further went ahead and robbed Deng Arok of an Apple Macbook Air Laptop valued at 5 million shillings and an iPhone valued at 5 million shillings.

At the home of another victim Abig Yar, Sipapa and his wife allegedly stole a laptop and an iPhone all valued at 5 million shillings. They also robbed James Manyok of 400,000 shillings.

According to the charges, immediately or after the robbery Sipapa and his wife reportedly used a substance that made all their victims unconscious which made it easier for them to execute their crimes successfully.

Police earlier indicated that most of those items said to have been robbed by the couple were recovered hidden at their home in Kira Municipality in Wakiso District.

The Police further  told journalists in August that a report from the DNA tests carried out by their forensics had linked Sipapa to 12 more other cases of robbery.

Sipapa  became notorious in Kampala  city for  causing chaos on roads by stopping in the middle or at busy junctions in order to distribute money to crowds. Before and after the contested 2021 presidential elections, Sipapa is said to have occasionally gone  to National Unity Platform -NUP offices in Kamwokya and caused chaos by shooting in the air or even at the gate.

At the time of provoking NUP, Sipapa was having military guards. They were however withdrawn early this year after he knocked a driver and threatened to shoot him.

The IGP Martin Ochola ordered his arrest and impounding of his vehicle. However, the IGP’s ordesr were not effected until the robbery at Arok’s home.

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